Arch support



March 27, 1934. M. s. UER 1,952,613

ARCH SUPPORT Filed July l, 1933 n( 16 rmmly Y. bi1/ffm'.

Patented Mar. 27, 1934 oil-*Fics UNITED STATES P 5 claims.

This invention relates to arch supports adapted to be worn inside of ashoe, and more particularly to suoli arch supports in which thesupporting element may be adjusted to the correct position.

Devices of the above character are designed to correct or alleviatetrouble due to the falling or displacement of the metatarsal bones ofthe foot, and in order to secure satisfactory results, it is necessarythat the support be located at exactly the correct position to suittheparticular requirements of each'individual wearer.

' The object of the present invention, therefore, is to devise an archsupport of this character,

' comprising a pad or cushion having means by which it may be readilyadjusted to the foot of the Wearerbefore beingplaced in the shoe,

and when once adjusted, will be locked in position so as to indennitelyretain the adjustment.

With the above general object in view, aswell as to improve upon thedetails of construction of such devices, the invention consists in thearrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed,and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an inverted plan view of my improved arch supporting device;

Fig, 2 is a longitudinal section substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig.1; and

Fig. 3 is a transverse section substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my improved device is in the natureof an insole made up of a lower layer consisting of an outside sheet lof woven material or the like, and a superposed sheet 2 of buckram orthe like, coeXtensive with the sheet 1 and secured thereto by adhesiveor otherwise, and an upper layer 3 of soft fiexible leather or similarmaterial secured to the lower layer, as by means of a marginal series ofstitches 4. The buckram imparts the necessary stiffness to the insole.

At the rear or heel portion A of the insole, the layers may be cementedtogether, but adiacent the forward end B of the insole, the two layersare spaced apart to provide a pocket 5, as shown in 2, this pocket beingcompletely closed by the stitching 4.

Adjustably held within this pocket is a yielding pad or cushion 6preferably made of soft resilient material such as sponge rubber. andalso preferably being of curved and tapered form, as shown in thedrawing. The soft rubber is preferably secured at its iiat or lower sideto a base '7 of thin leather or the like.

Formed in the bottom layer 1 of the insole adjacent the center of thepocket 5 is an elongated opening 9, made to receive my improvedfastening or anchoring device for the pad. As shown in the drawing, thiscomprises a U-shaped rivet or staple 8 penetrating and permanentlyattached to the base 'l of the pad, as shown in Fig. 2, and a sheetmetal clip 10 passing through this staple and extending at right anglesto the length of the opening 9. The ends of this clip are wider than`the middle portion thereof, so that when. the staple has been placedover it and riveted in position, the clip cannot escape from the staple.The clip 10 is of relatively thin, exible metal such as brass, and haspunched up from each end thereof sharp pointed prongs 11, as best shownin Figs. 1 and 3.

The method of assembling the device is as follows. The clip 10 is firstsecured to the base 7 of the pad by means of the staple 8, as described.The pad is then placed upon the lower layer of the insole and the clip10 is passed through the opening 9, it being understood that this clipmay be folded or bent into V-shape for this purpose, somewhat asillmtrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The upper layer 3 is then appliedto the lower layer of the insole, thus enclosing the pad in the pocket,with the clip or anchoring device 10 projecting out through the opening9 in the lower layer.

This anchoring device thus constitutes means which may be readilygrasped with the fingers in order to shift the position of the pad 6 inthe pocket. The elongated opening 9 permits a maximum amount ofadjustment longitudinally 9 0 of the insole, and also an adjustmenttransversely7 of the opening 9.

In practice, the insole is fitted to the foot of the wearer by beingapplied thereto so that the heel portion A registers with the heel ofthe A95 foot. The pad 6 is then adjusted to the correct position and theend portions of the clip 10 bent over into contact with the lower layerl of the insole and the prongs 11 pushed in and caused to penetrate thislayer. These prongs thus posilOO tively engage the insole at each sideof the opening 9, and serve to lock the pad in adjusted position. Whenthe insole is then placed in the shoe, the pressure of the foot servesto maintain the engagement of the prongs 11 with the insole and T105thus prevents any possible slippage or movement or the pad.

In order to insure that the insole itself will not shift its positionafter being placed in the shoe, I preferably provide means forpermanent- 1,10

ly securing the insole in place. As shown in the drawing, this meansconsists of one or more, preferably two, thumb tacks 12 inserted in thelower sheet 1 with their heads between that sheet and sheet 2 and theirpoints projecting out the bottom side oi the insole. I have found theordinary and well known thumb tacks entirely suitable for this purposebecause of the large area of their heads which when mounted between thetwo sheets of the lower layer prevents twisting or bending of the pointsof the tacks. The buckram serves as a stii backing for the heads of thetacks. The insole is carefully placed in position with the heel portiontting the heel portion of the shoe and is then secured to the shoe bymeans of the tacks 12.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an improvedmeans for adjusting an arch supporting pad and for positively locking itin adjusted position before it is inserted in the shoe, and it isthought that the many advantages of my invention will be readilyappreciated by those skilled in the art, without further discussion.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the class described comprising an insole having upper andlower` layers secured together at their edges to provide a pocketbetween said layers, a yielding, non-removable pad adjustably heldwithin said pocket, one of said layers having an opening thereinadjacent said pad, and an anchoring device attached to said pad andprojecting through said opening, said anchoring device having meanspositively engaging the insole adjacent the said opening to lock the padin adjusted position.

2. A device of the class described comprising an insole having upper andlower layers secured together at their edges to provide a pocket betweensaid layers, a yielding, non-removable pad adjustably held within saidpocket, one of said layers having an opening therein adjacent said pad,and a flexible anchoring device attached to said pad and projectingthrough said opening, said anchoring device having portions adapted tobe bent into positive engagement with the insole at the sides of saidopening to lock the pad in adjusted position.

3. A device of the class described comprising an insole having upper andlower layers secured together at their edges to provide a pocket betweensaid layers, a yielding, non-removable pad adjustably held within saidpocket, the lower layer having an opening therein adjacent said pad, andan anchoring device attached to said pad and projecting through saidopening, said anchoring device having means positively engaging saidlower layer near said opening and held in such engagement by the weightof the wearer, to maintain the pad in any position to which it may beadjusted.

4. A device of the class described comprising an insole having upper andlower layers secured together at their edges to provide a pocket betweensaid layers, a yielding, non-removable pad adjustably held within saidpocket, the lower layer having an opening therein adjacent said pad, andan anchoring device attached to said pad and projecting through saidopening, said anchoring device having prongs adapted to penetrate thelower layer near said opening to hold the pad in adjusted position.

5. A device of the class described comprising an insole having upper andlower layers secured together at their edges to provide a pocket betweenj.Y

said layers, said lower layer comprising an outer sheet and a superposedsheet of stiffening material and being provided with an openingcommunicating with said pocket, a non-removable pad adjustably heldwithin said pocket, an anchoring device attached to said pad andprojecting through said opening, said device having means positivelyengaging the insole adjacent said opening to lock the pad in adjustedposition, and a plurality oi thumb tacks mounted between the two sheetsof said lower layer with their points projecting through said outersheet for securing said insole in adjusted position in a shoe.

MYER S. SILVER.

